Undercover Endings
by inspirationimagination
Summary: Tony and Ziva are sent undercover as someone is targeting a Marine dependent and her daughter. As more secrets are revealed, Tony and Ziva struggle to find each other within the drama. But Tony refuses to let her go and Ziva must finally be honest with herself and Tony.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I've had this story written on my computer for ages, literally. I've finally got around to uploading it so I hope you guys like it. Updates will be regular, intervals depend on reader interest. Also, the layout of Tony's apartment is different as it was written before it was featured in episodes. Enjoy x**

**Chapter 1**

The lock clicked and the door swung open. Ziva stood up, slipping her tools back in to her pocket. She smiled as she closed the door behind her, satisfied with her skills. She stepped forward, her eyes scanning around the room. To her left was the open plan kitchen, all the furnishings and appliances were silver and shiny. She smiled. There were no dirty dishes in the sink like she had expected. She strode forward. The living room was decorated how she had expected. Stylish and modern. A leather sofa. A wide screen TV. And the monstrous shelves of movies lining the wall with the window, opposite her. An old pizza box sat open on the coffee table, the one spare slice left behind had gone cold. It was not the 'frat' house she had pictured. There was no shoes left lying around, no dirty laundry on the furniture and no empty beer cans on the floor. He wasn't the slob she often teased him about.

"Tony?" Ziva called loudly, looking around.

She heard footsteps. Hurried footsteps, coming from the corridor to her right, leading off the living room. In any other situation she would have pulled her gun and took cover, but this was Tony's apartment, no one here would hurt her. A young woman emerged from the room on the right of the corridor, quickly rebuttoning her blouse. Her skirt was creased, her hair ruffled and her face red.

"I am so sorry!" she said, hurrying down the corridor. "I have no idea he had a girlfriend!" She stopped in front of Ziva looking apologetic.

"Girlfriend?" Ziva asked, confused by her assumption. The young woman's mouth fell open.

"You're his wife?!" she yelled in shock. She glanced back at the bedroom she had just come from and dared to look at Ziva. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry, he didn't say anything, I swear!" she said, hurrying towards the front door. She apologised one last time before pulling it open and disappearing behind it, letting it swing shut after her.

Ziva stared after her, confused by the woman's mistake. She mentally shrugged, not fussed by the misunderstanding. She headed down the corridor. There were two doors along the left side, spaced apart. Opposite the second door was another door, on the right side of the wall, the one the young woman had just come from. She stepped closer to it, seeing the door slightly ajar. She glanced around the room, sunlight pouring in through the window. She saw Tony, lying in bed, asleep. She pushed the door open and strode in disbelieving.

"How can he have slept this long?" she muttered to herself.

She strode in, looking around. A king size bed? _'Typical'_, she thought. A computer. A stereo. She shook her head. _'Why does he need so many appliances?'_ she shook her head again. Tony stirred, rolling over on to his front, a heavy sigh followed. She chuckled, walking over to the side of the bed, seeing his clothes on the floor, crumpled. _'Last night's clothes'_ she reasoned.

"Tony! Wake up!" she said loudly and then waited for a response. Tony grunted, stirred a little to get more comfortable, but stayed asleep as before. "Tony, get up!" she shouted louder, then 'Gibbs' slapped him in frustration. Tony jumped awake in an instant, his eyes snapping open/ He looked up seeing her.

"Ziva?" he asked, drowsy and confused. "What are you doing here? How did you get in? Why are you standing over me?" he asked, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"I have a better question for you." She said, ignoring his questions. "Is your alarm clock broken?"

"My alarm..." he started, then realising and jumping out of bed. "How late am I?" he asked, hurrying to his closet.

"Only an hour and a half." She replied, still looking around his room, surprised by how much of his personality was shown. She was surprised he did not have movie posters on his walls. She suppressed a giggle as he replied to her.

"Yeah, but to Gibbs that's like 3 hours. I'm doomed." He said, pulling clothes from his closet.

"Most likely, especially as you should be at a crime scene now."

Tony's head appeared around the side of his closet door. "Oh no. He's going to kill me." He said, closing his closet door behind him, now in clean boxer shorts. He pulled a shirt over his head, sliding it over his broad shoulders. Ziva awkwardly looked away, though she secretly wanted to admire him.

"Flustered by my nakedness, Ziva David?" he teased, his sparkly eyes watching hers. Ziva shot him an 'as if' look, though she couldn't stop the slight smile spearing at the corners of her mouth.

"Believe it or not, Tony, I am not here for your body. I am here because Gibbs got, as you say, the 'bat signal'. I never really understood that saying." She said, as he picked up his jeans.

"What?" he asked, frowning at her. He jumped and pulled his pants up in an instant. "It's Batman, Ziva. Gotham City shines a light in to the sky when they need him, same for Gibbs." He explained, buckling his belt. "Though, Gibbs just seems to know when he's needed, rather than needing a light signal." He pulled on his socks, as Ziva considered what he had said.

"Huh. Ready to go?" she asked as he slipped on his shoes.

"And face Darth Vader? Not in the least." He joked, grabbing his jacket, wallet and car keys.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't stayed up all night you might have woken up on time." She teased.

"I'll have you know..." he started, stepping towards her, but stopping short and looking around.

"Where's Sarah? Ziva, what did you do?" he added, when she didn't respond.

"I did not do anything." She replied innocently.

"Did you shoot her?" he teased, only half-serious.

"Hardly. She literally ran out when she saw me." Ziva explained.

Tony pulled on his jacket. "And why would she do that?" he asked, confused.

"She assumed I was your wife." She said, shrugging at him.

"Yeah." Tony laughed. "The last time we were married I got beat up and nearly slashed up." He picked up his shades and slides them on. "Besides, there was only one good thing about being undercover with you." He said, his voice a seductively low tone.

"And what is that?" Ziva asked, her tone equally as teasing as she stepped even closer to him.

"We got to share a bed." He said, surprising her for a minute.

"Really? I had no idea I left such an impression on you." She teased. "But if you don't hurry up, I'm sure Gibbs'll leave an impression on you. More specifically, on the back of your head." She added, laughing and then striding out of the room. She heard him reluctantly follow behind her.

xXx

Tony and Ziva strode across the front porch at the scene. They stopped outside the front door. "Here goes my career." Tony said dramatically, as Ziva rolled her eyes and opened the door.

She strode inside and Tony followed. They stepped in to a spacious living room. The window to the right was broken, glass shards scattering the carpet.

"Any particular reason you're late, DiNozzo?"

Tony froze as Gibbs stepped from behind him, closing the front door.

"A very good reason, Boss." Tony fumbled, struggling to think of something to say.

"Which is?" Gibbs asked, knowing Tony had no excuse prepared.

"5'4, blonde, Sarah..." Ziva interrupted.

"Yeah, my aunt Sarah," Tony lied. "She's very sick, I was at the hospital all night..." He noticed Gibbs staring at him. "That was a lie, Boss, I lied. It's bad I know, I just overslept."

"With Sarah." Ziva muttered, smirking as Tony glared at her.

"Won't happen again, Boss." Tony promised.

"I know." Gibbs said, his silent threat all too familiar among the team.

"Hey, Boss, where..." McGee said, striding down the stairs, stopping short when he saw Tony and Ziva. "Tony, I didn't know you were coming in today."

"Ha ha, probie." Tony responded sarcastically. He turned to Gibbs as McGee strode over to join them. "What exactly have we got here, boss?"

"A missing Marine dependant, Carla Meyer. Her husband, a Lieutenant, died 3 years ago, honourable discharge. Meyer's daughter, Jessica is also missing." Gibbs said, not needing his notes.

"Suspects?" Ziva asked, her eyes already scanning the room.

"Nope. Nobody saw anything but Metro got a call about a disturbance early this morning. They did a background check and called us. " Gibbs replied.

"Who was the call from?" Tony asked.

"Who else, a nosey neighbour." Gibbs said. Before they could ask anything else he immediately directed them. "Tony and Ziva, upstairs. McGee downstairs with me"

xXx

Tony and Ziva were in a bedroom. Ziva's eyes scanned the room, posters of bands and actors were plastered around the room. A laundry bin was full to the brim, a small selection of makeup was sitting on a dressing table and the bed was unmade. _All signs of a teenager_, Ziva thought, _but why would a teenager need a pacifier?_ She thought, frowning as she returned it to the bedside table.

"And I remember this other time..." Tony continued, though Ziva had been ignoring his continuing movie references.

"Tony, we are supposed to be finding them, so start looking for something that will tell us where they are."

"Kill joy." Tony muttered.

"Tony, you..." Ziva to a stop, she straightened up, frowning.

"What?" Tony asked, confused by her sudden silence.

"Can you hear that?" she asked quietly, glancing around, looking for the source.

"Sorry, but we don't all have your ninja skills." Tony joked, but she waved her hand to silence him.

She tilted her head to the side, as Tony frowned in further confusion. Then, as the silence settled, they heard the smallest of scuffles. They instantly drew their weapons, backing against the wall for cover, eyes intent on the closet. Tony grabbed the first thing he saw and threw it out the door and over the banister and down the stairs to notify Gibbs. He heard McGee and then heard him silenced by Gibbs. They careful footsteps started up the stairs and soon enough Gibbs' eagle-like eyes came in to sight. Tony nodded his head towards the closet, and Gibbs nodded to him.

Tony then nodded to Ziva, indicating that he had her back. Ziva yanked open the closet doors and they both pointed their guns in to the darkness. Cowering in the corner, clutching a baby in her arms, was a young girl, her cheeks wet with tears.

**AN: Hey kinda short but it's just getting in to it. Let me know what you think, drop a review and/or subscribe to read more.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**AN: Huge thanks to earanemith, Monsterbacke, zoey357, blueberry55, StormInMyHeart, 4susan41, EMT1215, Lois Lynn Carter, greeny13, tivaandmcabby, never-give-up-hope2, taliamom1997, Josette1807 for all your alerts and reviews. You guys deserve gold stars for keeping me motivated.**

Back in the squadroom, the girl did not seem at ease. She say at McGee's desk, the baby in a car seat on his desk, snuffling in her sleep. She had a protective hand on the seat at all times. Tony and Ziva were stood opposite her, in front of the desk, watching her. It was the third time she'd interrupted Tony before he could ask a question. Ziva was starting to suspect it was intentional.

"Ok, Jessica..." Tony started, trying to stay patient. "Please try to listen. Can you tell us what happened to your mom?"

"I don't know anything." Jessica said in a steady tone, her eyes on the little sleeping girl.

"A lot of people sat that, but the smallest detail..." Ziva coaxed before being interrupted.

"I said I don't know anything!" Jessica interrupted.

"Jessica..." Ziva started, her anger suddenly bubbling by the small confrontation.

"Thanks for your help." Tony said, cutting off Ziva. "Excuse us." He added, taking Ziva's elbow and gently leading her away. He guided her towards her own desk, which she leant against in frustration.

"She is obviously hiding something," Ziva said in an angry whisper.

"Maybe, but we won't get it out of her by force." Tony replied in an equally quiet whisper. "For now, we need to focus on the mother and find other leads." He advised, trying to persuade her away from the potentially violent alternate if he let her too close to an argumentative Jessica.

"I supposed." She reluctantly muttered, sighing and dropping her eyes from Jessica.

The elevator beeped and Gibbs strode past them. The usual coffee cup in his hand, but with a can of soda in his other hand. He pulled Tony's chair to McGee's desk and sat down next to Jessica. He put the can of soda on the desk for her.

"No, thanks," she said, looking at the can.

"Where's your mom, Jess?" Gibbs asked, his head tilted to the side, his ocean blue eyes scrutinising her face for lies.

"I don't know." Jessica replied, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Then what happened?" he asked, his eyes squinting as she glanced at him for the briefest of seconds.

"I don't know!" she yelled again, repeating the same outburst as she had to Ziva.

The baby in front of her stirred and started to cry. Jessica sighed in frustration and frowned at herself. She picked up a baby bag from under the desk, pulled out a bottle and dropped the bag back to the floor.

"Do you have somewhere I can warm this up?" Jessica asked Gibbs.

Gibbs took the bottle from her, flipped the lid off his coffee and stood the bottle in it. Jessica smiled a thank you, amused by his method. She expertly picked up the baby and placed her smugly in her arms. Jessica rocked her back and forth, soothing her cries, quietly humming a melody.

"What is her name?" Ziva asked, causing Tony to look at her, not used to the soft, caring tone in her voice.

"Sammi-Jo." Jessica cautiously replied, looking at Ziva.

"She is beautiful." Ziva complimented, watching the little girl being soothed by the gentle motion.

"Yeah, she is. She's perfect." Jessica agreed, gazing down at the little girl, looking like a porcelain doll. They watched the admiration and intimacy as Jessica played with the little girl's fingers.

"Jessica," Gibbs started, causing her to finally look at him. "I promise you, no matter what you tell us, the both of you are safe. You have my word."

He handed her the bottle from his coffee, quickly drying it with a tissue from McGee's box on his desk. She took it, silencing Sammi-Jo's cries.

"I was in bed." She started, reluctant to tell them. "I heard a noise."

"What kind of noise?" Tony asked.

"Glass breaking." Jessica said, a sure tone to her voice, but a small frown appearing as she recalled the uncomfortable truth.

"A downstairs window was broken. It is likely that is what you heard." Ziva suggested.

"And I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, I thought it was my mom but when he went in to her room I heard a scream." A tear fell down her face as she spoke. "I grabbed Sammi-Jo and hid in my closet."

Another tear fell from her watery eyes. Gibbs offered her a tissue.

"Then what happened?" he asked, expertly extracting information.

"He came to my door," she wiped the moisture from her face. "He didn't come in, just stood there for a second." She hesitated for a second, a new wave of tears sliding down her cheeks. "Then he dragged my mom downstairs."

"I know this is hard, Jessica but what did he look like?" Gibbs enquired, as Jessica glanced down to check on the little girl.

"I don't know he had a hood up." Jessica said, shaking her head.

"What did the gun look like?" Ziva asked.

"It was a handgun, a silver revolver." Jessica immediately responded, certain in her reply.

"You know about guns?" Ziva asked, more surprised than suspicious.

"My dad was a collector. He used to let me watch him clean them." Jessica said softly, watching Sammi-Jo.

"What did he do with your mom?" Tony asked, redirecting the conversation back to the incident.

"I don't know. He dragged her down the stairs. I stayed where I was. I was too scared to move." She said, as though shamed by her actions.

"But did you hear anything?"

"Tyres." She said, after thinking for a moment. "He had a car. And before you ask, I didn't see it, so I don't know what it looks like." She said, drying her eyes on the tissue.

"How did your mom look?" Gibbs asked, tilting his head to the side, his blue eyes watching hers.

"What?" Jessica asked, caught off guard by the sudden change in direction of questioning.

"You said he dragged her past your door, what did she look like? Was she conscious?" he asked, coaxing her in to answering.

"Yes." She nodded. "But she had tape over her mouth and her hands were taped together too."

"How can you tell she was conscious?" Ziva asked.

"Because she looked directly at the closet. Like she knew we were in there." Jessica said, not taking her eyes of Sammi-Jo, who had nearly finished her bottle.

"Maybe that was her way of telling you to stay hidden." Tony softly suggested.

"I guess so." Jessica muttered, as Sammi-Jo finished her bottle. "You have to find her, Agent Gibbs." She said, looking directly in to his eyes. "I can't lose my mom." She pleaded.

Gibbs nodded, his eyes still tight, as he realised something.

xXx

Gibbs indicated for tony and Ziva to follow him. As they left the squadroom, he directed them towards the elevator, around the corner, that went to Abby's lab.

"Ziva, observations?" he asked, knowing she would have spotted it too.

"She referred to her mother as her's alone." She said simply.

"So?" Tony asked, not quite understanding.

"On the ride over, she told me the baby was her sister." Gibbs said, as if stating the obvious.

"Slip of the tongue? You're making something out of nothing, Boss." Tony responded, immediately knowing what was coming.

Gibbs slapped the back of his head. "The baby isn't in the personnel file." He stated.

"And Jessica is very protective and practised in caring for her," Ziva stated also.

"You think she's the mother?" Tony asked, frowning as he tried to piece it together in his head.

"Well, yeah, DiNozzo, maybe!" he said in frustration. "Maybe you two should go find out!"

"On it, Boss." Tony immediately replied, striding back towards the squadroom.

"What should we do about Jessica?" Ziva asked, lingering as Tony hurried away.

"Leave her where she is; she's fine for now. Get her anything they need." He added, pushing the button to summon the elevator.

xXx

"What've you got for me, Abs?" Gibbs called as he strode in to her lab.

Abby and McGee were stood at her computer. Abby turned with a grin on her face.

"Is it true the baby's upstairs?" she asked, her round eyes glittering.

"Sammi-Jo." Gibbs corrected.

"Is that her name?" she crooned. "That is so adorable."

"Abs, what have you got?" he asked more firmly.

Abby immediately turned back to her computer, reciting her findings. "The blood you collected from the broken downstairs window is definitely male."

"Jessica already said it was a guy." Gibbs said, causing Abby to narrow her eyes at him.

"Fibres in the broken shards suggest he wore gloves, cotton and polyester, sold nationwide." She said.

"So there's no way of tracing where they were bought or narrowing down who might have brought them." McGee added.

"Yeah, I got that, McGee." Gibbs said, still staring out with Abby. "Prints?"

"I may be brilliant, but I'm not a miracle worker. Like I said, he was wearing gloves." She said, her smile growing as the corner of Gibbs lips turned upward.

"The gun?" he asked.

"Tony sent me Jessica's description. I ran a trace. No registered weapons of that kind in the local area, no thefts reported and no outstanding correlating police files."

"So you've got nothing?" Gibbs asked doubtfully.

"No, we do have something, but you might want to sit down." Abby suggested.

"Abby!" he scolded, time was not something he liked to waste.

"McGee, you tell him. I don't like it when he's angry." Abby said, nudging McGee.

"This guy's MO matches that of 3 outstanding kidnaps a few years ago. All marine wives and daughters." McGee stated.

"McGee, let me tell you something. He knew where the mother's room was. He knew which was Jessica's room. He knew she was there. But he left her behind." McGee looked at Gibbs blankly, not understanding what he meant. "Why change his MO?" Gibbs asked.

"He wouldn't." Abby answered. "This is something else?"

"This is personal, someone she knows who's been in the house before. He was prepared, in and out within a few minutes. He knew what to do." Gibbs stated, his gut guiding him.

"I'll run a background check, Boss." McGee said, turning back to the computer.

"You do that, McGee." Gibbs said, striding out of the lab.

Abby turned back to her computer screen and sighed. Gibbs appeared behind her, putting his hands on the top of her arms. He leaned in, bringing his lips to her ear.

"I'm not angry, Abs." He whispered, his cool breath tickling her neck. He kissed her cheek. "Call me when you've got something." He said, patting her back once and striding out again.

"Don't I always?" she called after him. She turned back to McGee who was looking at her, her grin faltered as he watched her. "What?" she asked, seeing nothing wrong with her interaction with Gibbs. _"Maybe Timmy's jealous?"_ she thought, making her smile.

xXx

Gibbs moved towards in the squadroom as the elevator doors slid close. Tony hurried towards him as soon as he spotted him. Ziva imitated, grabbing a file from her desk.

"Boss, I-"

"The mother is not the mother." Ziva interrupted, smiling as Tony frowned at her.

Gibbs checked over Ziva's shoulder to see Jessica was out of hearing range. He looked at Ziva to continue.

"I spoke to the neighbours again; they said the baby just appeared one day. No pregnancy." Ziva recited, ignoring Tony's attempts to interrupt.

"What I have is really important, Boss." Tony hinted.

"Could have had a surrogate." Gibbs suggested, ignoring Tony.

"I thought so too." Ziva replied. "But I checked hospital records, no mention of a Carla or Jessica Meyer."

"Boss, I really-"

"Could have used a false name." Gibbs interrupted.

"Well, an overly observant neighbour said Jessica disappeared before spring break, only came back two weeks ago." Ziva asked.

"That's a big absence, Ziva. A five month absence." He said, thinking for a moment. "If she was 4 months pregnant when she left." He mumbled.

"Suggests she is the mother. A 4 month bump could easily be hidden by a large sweater or two." Ziva added.

Gibbs stepped forward, past Tony and Ziva, watching Jessica playing with a giggling Sammi-Jo. "Want to know a problem with that theory, Ziva? Her 18th birthday was last week." Gibbs stated.

"She was a minor?" Ziva asked, her voice a tone of shock. "That is statutory." She added, as she watched Jessica.

"I know." Gibbs muttered, a sigh escaping his lips. Gibbs started towards the squadroom, but was held back as Tony grabbed his arm.

"Boss, I-" he started, as Gibbs looked down at his hand holding his arm. Tony hastily let go, looking apologetic and wary. "I would apologise but I know how you feel about-"

"Get to the point DiNozzo!" Gibbs interrupted.

"Metro called, the perp went back to the scene looking for Jessica." Tony said, knowing it would catch Gibbs' attention.

"They got him?" he asked, his eyes alight.

"No, but-"

"How is this going to help me, DiNozzo?" Gibbs demanded, stepping towards Tony threateningly.

"Well, er, it helps because...erm..."

"Because now we can set a trap." Gibbs finished.

Tony looked confused; surprised he had not been hit for his fumbling.

"Good work." He said approvingly. "both of you." He added, seeing Ziva's mouth open in protest. Before they could say anything, Gibbs hurried off, heading straight up to the Director's office.

xXx

"Undercover?" Ziva asked in shock. "As what?!"

"A married couple." Gibbs replied.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other through the dim light of MTAC.

"Hey, wait a minute, don't we get a say in this?" Tony asked. "Last time-"

"Last time was different." Gibbs said firmly.

"How does this even apply to the case?" Tony asked, doubtful that it did.

"Because, DiNozzo, you pretend to be temporary carers for Jessica and Sammi-Jo. Metro said he came back for her, it's likely he'll try again."

"And if he does?" Ziva asked.

"We catch him." Gibbs said simply.

"Boss, I don't know if-" tony started.

But Gibbs simply left, his mind wasn't going to be changed.

xXx

The next morning, Tony and Ziva pulled up outside the house they would be staying in. Gibbs' Dodge was parked across the street. They got out and moved round to the trunk. Tony opened it and they both lifted out a brown paper grocery bag. As they closed the trunk and walked up the pathway, Ziva glanced around, taking in the surroundings.

"Who you looking at?" Tony asked, spotting her surveying the area.

"No one." She replied. "Just learning the layout."

"Once a ninja, always a ninja." Tony muttered.

"A sexy ninja." Ziva corrected teasingly, her eyes meeting his.

She smiled seductively, teasing him as he simply looked at her in interest. They climbed the three-step porch stairs, opened the front door and stepped inside, in to a spacious living room. A television was in the corner, a sofa opposite and an armchair, with a window on the right wall. To their left was a set of double doors, slightly ajar, revealing a sizeable dining room. At the far end of the living room was an open plan kitchen. Just left of the kitchen was the stairs. Their eye scanned the room. As they closed the door behind them, Gibbs came in from the dining room.

"What took you so long?" he asked, his tone not showing if he was being rhetorical or not, as he moved to the kitchen, picking up his coffee.

"Tony insisted that we stopped at a drive-through." Ziva snitched.

"it was to use the restrooms and it was only for a minute." Tony quickly corrected.

"A minute of my time." Gibbs said.

"It won't -"

"Got your gear?" Gibbs interrupted.

"Of course." Ziva piped up, smiling at tony who, once again, was frowning at her for snitching.

Ziva moved towards Gibbs at the kitchen surface, setting down her grocery bag, filled with her clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush, cell phone, gun, camera and everything else she might need.

Gibbs had told them to dress as civilians, and disguise their things inside grocery bags, just in case the suspect was watching them.

"McGee's coming over later, he said he'd bring us more clothes and-"

"He already did." Gibbs interrupted, as Tony said down his bag, lifting their rucksacks from behind the kitchen counter.

Ziva started transferring her things from the brown bag to her rucksack and Tony did the same. "I sent him back to the lab to check all cameras and microphones are working." Gibbs said.

"Cameras?" Tony enquired.

"Covering every inch of the house and the backyard." Gibbs added.

"Even in the bathrooms?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah."

"What if I need to use the bathroom?" she asked. "I do not want a recording of me."

"Throw a towel over it." Gibbs advised, ignoring Ziva as she raised her eyebrows. "McGee has motion sensors along the fence outside. If he turns up, we'll know."

Gibbs turned his back to them, scanning the room. He headed past the sofa and armchair, taking his coffee with him and glancing out the window.

"Where's Jessica?" Ziva asked.

"Upstairs, settling Sammi-Jo for a nap." Gibbs explained, leaning away from the window.

"Do you think it is wise, having them here? It would have been easy to find a decoy."

"She'll be fine. She's tough." Gibbs said.

"How can you tell?" Tony asked, securing his holster and gun to his hip.

"She's a Marine kid. " Gibbs stated, his tone as if it affirmed the obvious.

xXx

"I can't believe I had to cancel all my plans." Tony whined, muttering under his breath as they climbed the stairs.

"Let me guess. Blonde, 5'4, hotel room?" Ziva joked, knowing it was probably going to be something similar to her assumption, as they reached the top of the stairs, turning left door the corridor.

"Actually, Sarah hasn't called back, not surprising after your performance." Tony said, his tone joking. "But Becca is hot. And FYI, she's a brunette."

"Like it matters." She muttered, rolling her eyes.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous, Ziva." Tony smirked.

"You wish," she teased with a soft smile.

"Like you wouldn't know." He almost whispers, catching her off guard. The look they share lingers for a moment before she forces herself to look away.

Ziva kicked open their bedroom door, stopping short as she saw the double bed, dropping her bag the floor. She ignored it, noticing his lack of comment. _'Strange'_, she thought. _'He saw the bed but didn't comment? Not like him. Does it bother him?'_ she thought in a panic. _'He said that is what he was looking forward to, was he joking? Of course he was joking.'_ She turned and saw him looking wistfully at the bed. _'Is he really hoping? No he-or maybe- no he wouldn't expect- or what if-'_

"I'm going to learn the layout." She said, using it as an excuse to depart and get her thoughts straight.

She left before Tony could say anything. Tony looked at her just she ducked out of the room. He frowned. _'What's up with her?'_ He looked back at the double bed. _'Did she see me looking? Damn it, she probably thinks I'm a right idiot.'_ He resisted the urge to slap his own head.

He looked around. Opposite the door, just to the right, was a window that overlooked the street out front. The floor was carpeted and the walls were elegantly decorated, with comfortable furniture. At the far end of the room, opposite the bed, was a dressing table with a mirror built in. The double bed looked spacious and the covers, with soft plump pillows, looked comfortable and welcoming. There were bedside tables on both sides of the bed. Along the same wall as the bedroom door was another door, leading to the en suite bathroom. Tony jumped as he heard something thump behind him. He turned and saw Gibbs, dropping Ziva's bag on to the bed, obviously moving it from the floor by the door.

"Oh, no, Boss, Ziva sleeps on the left side. Well, technically on the right if you're actually in the bed." Tony said, his half-smile faltering as Gibbs merely looked at him. "It's just that she can't sleep if she's on the wrong side and she prefers..."

"I hear I disrupted your plans, DiNozzo." Gibbs interrupted.

"Yeah, really hot plans I met Thursday." Tony joked, slightly put off my Gibbs light manner.

"If you have things to do, DiNozzo, go do them." Gibbs suggested.

"Good one, Boss, you almost sound serious." Tony chuckled.

"I am serious." Gibbs replied, causing Tony to frown. "And when you get back, I'll even help you look for a new job." Gibbs said in a joking but serious tone, as he tapped Tony's cheek twice.

"Point taken, Boss. Shutting up now. I won't mention her again." Tony said, not daring to smile back.

xXx

Tony sighed as Gibbs left the room, heading downstairs. _'Ziva must have snitched.'_ Tony reasoned. He opened the second door to the en suite bathroom, stepping inside. There were tiled walls and a lone-standing bath, both white and gleaming. To the left of the door was the toilet, to the right was the bath, and directly opposite the door was the sink with a small mirrored cabinet above.

Tony checked his hair in the cabinet, then felt his cell phone buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out, flipped it open and saw he had a text message from Abby.

"Smile Tony you're on candid camera" it read.

He looked up at the mirror; realising McGee must have hidden a camera. Tony waved at the mirror; he pointed to his eye, then his chest and then at the camera. After a moment his cell phone buzzed again, another message from Abby. He opened it and smiled at the animated heart waving at him. He winked at the camera and snapped his cell phone shut. He turned to leave, knowing Gibbs would kill him if he saw him goofing around when he should be working.

As he glances back at the double bed he feels a shudder of nerves in his stomach. As much as he secretly can't wait to share Ziva's space, just to be near to her, to be able to feel her warmth across from him, he knows it's going to be torture. To not be able to touch her or hold her, not be able to lie behind her and smell her shampoo in her hair. He takes a deep breath to steady himself, he needed to focus.

**AN: Hey guys, leave a review and let me know what you think. Reviews really help with motivation and inspiration so please give your opinion, even if it's just a few words. Hope you liked it, more will be posted in a few days x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**AN: I apologise, this was supposed to be posted yesterday but I couldn't get to a computer. Thanks to, NayNay72894, greeny13, dannyurk, SavvanahRae152, xxtivazonexx, Volkonskaya17, TellHer96, Ely101ncisfan, Lilly117, never-give-up-hope2 for all your reviews and alerts. I'm currently writing the final chapter so I hope you like this chapter x**

Ziva, Tony and Jessica were sat at the dining table. Tony sat at the head of the table, Ziva to his right and Jessica to his left, the double doors behind her. On the chair beside Jessica was the baby carrier in which Sammi-Jo was dozing. On the table in front of them were plates of food, a talent Tony had not divulged before. He had managed to cook something from the small amount of food, besides baby formula, that Gibbs had left in the kitchen cupboards. They had sat in a stony silence since they took their seats, failing to engage Jessica in conversation.

"You could have put her down to sleep in your room; there is a crib." Ziva suggested.

"I'm not letting her out of my sight." Jessica muttered, knowing about the crib, not moving her eyes from her plate as she turned her fork over and over in her hand.

"There are camera's covering every inch of this house. She'd be perfectly safe in the bedroom." Tony said, trying to ease the concern Jessica was obviously feeling.

"She's staying with me." Jessica replied firmly, looking him in the eye, as though daring him to say otherwise.

Tony and Ziva glanced at each other as Jessica looked back at her plate.

"You really care about her, huh?" Tony said, sipping his drink.

"Of course I do!" Jessica replied, as though offended by his comment. "She's my reason for breathing. I'd do anything for her." Jessica muttered, watching the little girl next to her, smiling softly.

"I felt that way about my little sister too." Ziva said, her eyes tight and reading.

"I...oh yeah." Jessica said, fumbling, caught off guard by Ziva's choice of words. "I don't know what's happening here but I just want to keep her safe."

"As long as you do as we say, this'll all work out. We'll have your mom back home and the creepy kidnapper in jail." Tony said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Then what should I do?" Jessica almost pleaded.

"Act natural. Our cover story is critical to catching this man. We have to maintain it." Ziva instructed.

"But I don't understand. How can we catch this guy by pretending to live here?" Jessica asked, a confused frown appearing above her eyes.

Tony hastily glanced at Ziva, cautious how to continue. "The guy who took your mom, he went back to the house afterwards."

"We believe it is not only your mother he was after." Ziva finished, cautious how Jessica would react.

"That makes no sense! Why would anyone want us? We're just a family; we're not naval officers, or secret traders or anything like that. We're only dependants. We have nothing of value to criminals." Jessica said, her brow furrowed, looking for answers.

"Our boss has a gut feeling that this guy is someone you know, or your mother knows. And his gut feelings are usually correct." Tony explained.

"So..." Jessica began, still not understanding.

"So if he came back for you once in the midst of police, it is likely he will try again. This time we'll be waiting for him."

"Our lab tech put the word out you were staying here in temporary care on your social network profile." Tony explained.

"She hacked my account?" Jessica yelled, causing Sammi-Jo to stir. "Isn't it illegal?" Jessica asked in a quieter tone, careful not to disturb Sammi-Jo.

"No. Not really." Tony said. "Maybe. A little." He added after a hesitant moment.

"Illegality is irrelevant." Ziva said firmly, shaking her head. "It will be worth it to catch him." She added.

Jessica looked down at Sammi-Jo. "Yeah." She agreed.

xXx

Tony had finally agreed to clear the table, after Ziva nearly stabbed him with a fork. He grudgingly picked up the plates and headed for the kitchen.

"Jessica, I was wondering..." started Ziva, catching Jessica's attention. "Do you know who your mother was dating? Sammi-Jo's father?" Ziva asked, eye watching for a reaction.

"How is that important?" Jessica asked, confused but suspicious.

"Humour me." Ziva replied.

"My mother was entitled to a private life, I respect that." She said, avoiding Ziva's eyes.

"So you have no idea who the father is?" Ziva pushed.

"What does it matter? She's a beautiful little girl. It doesn't matter who her father is!" Jessica said firmly, but as though assuring herself as much as Ziva.

"She certainly id little. Can't be more than a few weeks old. When is her birthday?" Ziva pressed.

"What's with all the questions?!" Jessica snapped, frowning at Ziva.

"I am just curious." Ziva said.

"More like nosey!" Jessica remarked.

"It's our job, Jessica." Tony said, appearing behind them as though he were always there.

"Well I'm tired of it! I'm tired of this whole situation!" she yelled, jumping up, grabbing Sammi-Jo in her carrier and hurried past Tony, who knew it would do no good to restrain her.

"Jessica, wait!" Ziva called, hurrying up the stairs after her. Tony followed, letting her take the lead.

She followed Jessica along the hallway at the top of the stairs, reaching Jessica's door just as it slammed shut and the lock slid in to place.

"Jessica, open the door." Ziva instructed, her tone trying to remain neutral.

"Go away!" Jessica yelled, her tears showing in her voice.

"Please open the door." Ziva ordered, a slight question in her tone.

"Leave me alone!" Jessica mumbled, obviously reduced to sobs.

"Jessica, I know how stressful this all must be, the both of you losing your mother and all." Ziva said, trying to appeal to her vulnerability.

"You don't know anything!" screamed Jessica from behind the door.

"I know that Sammi-Jo is not who you say she is!" Ziva said, tired of the façade.

Sobbing in the bedroom stopped, and there was silence.

"Jessica..." Ziva said softly. "You are not in any trouble, but if you want our help in finding your mother, then we need to know everything to do our job as best as we can." She paused, allowing Jessica to digest what she had said. "We know Sammi-Jo is not your sister. And we know you are the mother." She added, wondering if she had said too much.

There was a long silence. Ziva looked at Tony, who was leaning against the doorjamb next to her. His eyes watched hers, a strange smile playing about his lips. He frowned briefly, wondering why he was smiling, but turned her attention back to the door, listening. The lock slid open. The door creaked open and Jessica stepped forward wiping her tears on her sleeve.

"I didn't know what to do." She said quietly, looking at Ziva. "My mom said it was for the best."

xXx

Ziva sat on the edge of Jessica's bed. Jessica had her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. Ziva had made Tony take Sammi-Jo in the living room, after convincing Jessica, which he did, but reluctant to follow Ziva's 'orders' despite being Senior Field Agent. But he didn't complain and merely frowned slightly as he trudged downstairs.

"She made me keep her; said it was my responsibility." Jessica explained.

"Did you want to keep her?" Ziva asked softly, keeping all judgement from her voice.

"Yes. I was just scared." Jessica said, not looking up from the floor.

"Then what happened?"

"At 3 months she said I had to start wearing baggie clothes to hide my belly. Then a month later she sent me to my grandma's. She said it was better that people didn't know, that the scandal was something I could live without."

"What about the father? Still your boyfriend?" Ziva tentatively asked.

A tear slid down Jessica's cheek and she answered in a stony voice. "He doesn't know. My mom made me pretend I was at camp." She said, a small frown appearing as she wiped the tear away. "And I broke up with my boyfriend before I found out I was pregnant." She added.

"So, who knows you are the mother?" Ziva asked.

"Just me, my mom and grandma."

"No doctors?" Ziva asked.

"My grandma used to be a nurse. My mom said I was in safe hands." She said, smiling weakly.

"How old is your boyfriend?" Ziva asked, wondering what reaction she would get.

"Older than me." Jessica said after a long pause.

"What is his name?"

"Why?" Jessica said in a shaky voice, finally meeting Ziva's eyes. "You're not going to look for him, are you? I don't want him to know about Sammi! The last thing I need is another guy thrown in to the mix!"

"Another guy?" Ziva frowned.

"Promise you won't get him involved!" Jessica pleaded, ignoring Ziva's question.

Ziva paused, looking at Jessica's pleading blue eyes. "I promise."

Jessica smiled, looking hesitant. After a short second she jumped at Ziva, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you." Jessica said, as Ziva hugged her back, surprised by the gesture.

xXx

After calming Jessica down and helping her get settled for the night, Ziva immediately called Gibbs and updated him on everything Jessica had said. Gibbs did not seem surprised in the least, his famous gut obviously still in working order. He instructed them to keep an eye on the girls. Ziva was not surprised to find that Tony had brought one of his movies with him. They sat on the sofa, watching the movie together. It was a comfortable silence as the movie began to run, Tony's arm leisurely running along the back cushions of the sofa.

Ziva smiled as she felt his fingers gently graze the back of her neck as he pulled his arm away at the end of the movie. Soon enough, the sky outside the window darkened and they decided to hit the rack. Ziva headed straight to Jessica's room as Tony busied himself with removing the DVD. Ziva opened the door and leant against the doorjamb, her head tilted to the side. They were both sleeping peacefully. Ziva jumped as she felt a hand touch her, fingertips trailed down her neck coming to rest on her shoulder, his fingers now grazing her collarbone. She tried not to let her delicious shiver show.

"You know, it's one thing want to protect them, it's different to watch them sleep. It's just creepy." He joked, his quiet voice tickling her ear and neck. She hadn't realised he was so close, feeling his right hand against the doorjamb behind her as he leaned against it too.

She sighed, reluctantly shaking off his hand and quietly closing the door. "No, it's called surveillance and it's our job." Ziva muttered to him, seeing his soft eyes aflame as he looked at her.

She stepped past him, inhaling his sweet scent with a hint of cologne. She had an urge to rest her head on his chest, to embrace and touch. But she couldn't let herself. She opened the door to their bedroom. Tony went back to the living room, mumbling about getting one last update from McGee. Ziva agrees, seeing his absence as a chance to get changed.

xXx

She brushed her teeth and quickly brushed her hair. As she did so, she was very aware of the camera, almost paranoid about who was watching her. She went back to the bedroom, a quick smiling glance over her shoulder at whoever was watching her.

She kicked off her boots, sighing as she pulled off her socks. It had been a long day. She changed her jeans and shirt for a red silk nightdress, leaving the matching gown on her rucksack beside her bed. She slipped her gun under her pillow, pointing it away from Tony's side of the bed.

The door behind her opened. Tony stepped in, stopping at the sight of her in her nightdress, and then collecting himself, shutting the door and striding forward.

"Oh, you should have said you were getting changed; I would have come in sooner." He teased, a smile appearing. She rolled her eyes but felt butterflies in her stomach.

"I do not know whether to be disgusted or complimented."

Tony grinned at her as he headed towards the bathroom. The door slowly swung until it was ajar.

"So, what did Jessica say?" Tony called from the bathroom.

"About what?" Ziva asked, plumping her pillows.

"Her socks." Tony called sarcastically from behind the bathroom door. "What do you think I mean? The kid, obviously."

"Sammi-Jo." Ziva corrected. "Her mother sent her to her grandmother's."

"What? Why?" Tony called in confusion, as the water in the bathroom started running.

"To hide the birth. After she delivered she came home." Ziva explained.

There was silence between them for a while, as Ziva set down her pillows and pulled back the covers. The only sound was Tony brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Ziva sat down, sighing again, her one leg tucked under her.

After a short while she heard Tony running the water a final time and then turned off the faucet again. The door opened as Tony walked out, switching off the bathroom light and closing the door. Ziva tried not to look at his toned body as he walked towards her, knowing he would never let her live it down if he caught her. He waltzed forward, towards the bed, in only his boxers. A small frown appeared above his eyes as he thought to himself.

"Maybe that was the motivation for the kidnapping." Tony suggested.

He put his cell phone and gun down on the bedside table, pulling the covers back and sitting next to her.

"I do not understand. How is that motivation?" Ziva asked.

"Well, maybe someone didn't like Jessica being a mother." He thought aloud.

Ziva lay down, rolling over to face him, pulling her side of the covers up. "But the only people who know Jessica is really the mother is her own mother and her grandmother." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Unless someone didn't like Carla being a mother."

"But she's not the mom." Tony said, frowning.

"But she made it look so, for Jessica's sake." Ziva explained, her small frown soon disappearing as he mirrored her, laying down and pulling the cover up, facing her. Very little space between them.

"So, who? Boyfriend? Boyfriend's girlfriend? Boyfriend's wife?" he speculated, his suggestions getting more outlandish as he guessed.

"Jessica did not say who her mother was dating." Ziva said, shaking her head a little.

Ziva looked thoughtful for a moment. Tony was about to speak when she jumped up, striding towards the door. Tony thought she was going to check on Jessica and Sammi again, but instead she simply flicked out the light. Tony didn't bother to try and hide how his eyes gazed over her body, the street lights outside shining through the window, shining off her soft skin as she passed the window. He watched how her hips swayed as she walked, her delicate legs striding confidently, the red silk rising and falling as her thighs moved.

She reached the bed, sliding under the covers. She was about to roll over and get comfortable for the night, when she spoke, causing her to hesitate.

"Ziva, I just wanted to say-" he started, as she looked at him through her thick layers, her dark hair falling perfectly around her face. "You handled Jessica really well. You know, really-" he looked for the right word. "...caring. I mean, most teenagers would rather whine than help."

"I sympathise, that is all." She said, shrugging a little, trying to pass it off as nothing.

"Sympathise? How?"

"I understand what it is like to lose a mother." She said simply, daring herself to be honest with him, trusting his glittering eyes through the dim light.

She looked at him for a moment, before rolling over and getting comfortable. He watched her. He knew it must have taken a lot of courage for her to tell him that. She never mentioned her mother. In fact, he couldn't remember a single time she had.

Ziva sighed quietly, trying to get comfortable. She could not believe she had just mentioned her mother to him. She never told anyone about her mother.

Beside her Tony was trying not to lean in. Trying not to reach out and touch the silky skin of her arm clutching at the comforter. She just wanted to hold her and just feel her body against his, just once, to just be warm with her. He just needed to hold her, really hold her and have their bodied touch from chest to toe, to know the curve of her legs on his, the dip of her spine against his chest, and smell the intoxicating scent of her lotion on her skin. He couldn't do it anymore, couldn't be this close and yet feel so isolated from her. He moved a bit closer, nearer but still giving hr space.

'_What is he doing?' _she thought, as she felt the mattress dip as he moved closer. She tried to calm her racing heart, determined not to let it show in her voice.

"What are you doing?"

"Hoping you won't break my arm. Nothing wrong with wanting a little closeness." He defended. He settled behind her, his arm closing around her waist and resting on her own. She inched back ever so slightly but he noticed, a smile creeping on his lips.

"Tony, we are on a mission." She said, trying to dissuade him from doing exactly what she actually wanted him to do. But there were cameras in the other room. And Gibbs would kill them.

"Yeah. We were on a mission last time. What's the difference?" he asked, his seductive tone nearly destroying her resolve.

She rolled over, moving closer, gazing at him through the darkness. "Last time..." she started, entwining her leg with his, putting the other over his body, feeling his hands on her hips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, sliding her body closer to his, feeling his thighs connect with hers.

"Last time..." he encouraged, tightening his hold of her leg over his hip, his fingers tracing the sensitive skin on the underside of her thigh.

"Last time..." she repeated, pausing to gently brush her lips with his. "...we did not have kids." She said simply.

She smirked as his expression clouded in confusion and disappointment as she removed her leg from over his hip. She unwrapped her other leg from his, removed her hand from his chest and her arm from around his neck. She rolled away, proud by her self control, but secretly as disappointed as he was. Her skin was tingling from where his hands had been, where his fingers had grazed and gripped. Her legs suddenly felt heavy now that they weren't around him, like they were made to fit together and she was incomplete without him there. She sighed as she heard him roll on to his back. The cold at her back was only present for a moment before he was back, wrapping his arm around her and shifting to get comfortable.

"Goodnight, Tony." She said teasingly, the butterflies still fluttering in her stomach and lower.

He mumbled an agreement and rested his head on the pillow beside her. He was asleep within minutes and she relished in how warm and safe his embrace felt. She eased over and turned to face him. He looked perfectly peaceful and she gazed at him for a moment. She snuggled deeper in to his chest, his bare skin feeling hot under her fingers. She could have sworn for a second his arms moved tighter around her.

**AN: Please leave a review; I'm getting a lot of readers but few reviews. Please tell me what you think or I can't tailor my writing for my audience. What do you like? What do you not like? Either way it's all useful x Thanks for reading, updates as usual next week :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**AN: Thanks to flicka0011, DarCeeDee, Nikkey-Lou, Mathou N, middawn, Kerry Marie, jgibbs7, Anonymous033 (Soph), oldmoviewatcher and Sweetest-Time for all your reviews and alerts.**

**And greeny13, you're right. That section was hastily rewrote at the last minute and I forgot to proof read, so thanks for pointing it out x**

**Sorry for the very late update. It was my birthday over the weekend and I was rushed off my feet visiting family and events, thanks for being patient x**

Ziva opened her eyes, lifted her head from her pillow and looked around the darkened room. Something was not right. She frowned. Something was very not right. She pushed the covers off herself, getting out of bed. She strode towards the window, pulling on her matching red silk dressing gown. She looked out through the blinds. Nothing. Tony's car still parked out front, darkened and silent. She scanned the street. Silent. Still. She frowned; her intuition had never proved her wrong before. She returned to their bed. She sat down, tucking one leg under herself, leaning to face towards Tony. She watched him sleeping peacefully. She smiled a little, brushing his hair from his eyes.

"Changed your mind?" he joked, not opening his eyes.

"I thought you were sleeping." She said, chuckling quietly.

"I was." He said, rolling on to his back, looking at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just had a feeling." She said, still wondering what had made her so alert.

"You and your feelings." He joked, his eyes intent on hers, as he sat up. "You're not going to sleep are you?"

"No. I am wide awake now." She said, glancing back at the window.

"Really?" he said suggestively, his usual grin inching across his face.

Ziva smiled slightly, leaning closer, deliberately teasing him. "What do you suggest we do to pass the time?" she asked, now regretting her earlier refusal to be close to him.

"Well..." Tony said, sliding closer, a hand resting on her thigh, as his lips inched closer to hers. "I have a few ideas, maybe-" His cell phone rang. He groaned and reached over to the bedside table.

"DiNozzo." He answered.

"Someone's in the backyard!" McGee said urgently down Tony's ear.

"On it, McCamera." Tony replied, as Ziva jumped up, grabbing her gun.

"Tony, there's a 30 second delay on the camera!"

"Like Scream." Tony muttered, a frown appearing. Ziva hurried to the door, Tony in quick pursuit behind her.

She opened the door, pointing her gun in to the darkness. A scream sounded from Jessica's room, echoing along the corridor. Tony and Ziva burst in to the room, guns poised. Jessica was next to the door, in the corner, clutching a screaming Sammi-Jo in fear. Ziva held her aim at the silhouetted figure by the window.

"Don't move!" she ordered. "Hands in the air!" The figure didn't move. "Now!" she demanded, raising her gun from the figure's chest to its head. The figure slowly raised its hands in surrender.

Tony flicked the light switch. It was a young boy, 18 or 19 years old.

Jessica stepped forward, stepping from behind Tony who had moved to protect her; her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Kyle?! What are you doing here?!"

xXx

"What happened?" McGee asked urgently, over the phone.

"He came through the window. But we got there. Just." She said, annoyed with herself. "Gibbs has taken him. He should be back there by now."

"Where were you and Tony?" McGee asked.

"In bed." Ziva replied.

"Together?" Abby asked, obviously back at the lab, Ziva was on loud speaker.

"Obviously."

"Oh-oh. Someone's got it bag." She muttered to McGee.

"What does that mean?" Ziva demanded.

"Ziva, look at what you're wearing. You obviously want him. And I _know_ he wants you." Abby said,

"The woman at the store recommended red. It was either this or nothing." Ziva remarked, now realising the implications of her buying new nightwear just to share a bed with him.

"I think Tony would prefer that." McGee muttered, the smirk obvious in his tone.

"What do you mean he wants me?" Ziva asked, frowning a little.

"It's Tony, Ziva. How do you think he wants you?" McGee asked rhetorically.

"I will not be another of his conquests." Ziva said firmly after a long pause.

"He doesn't want you to be his conquest, Ziva; he wants you to be his girlfriend!" Abby revealed.

"Who's that?" Tony asked behind her, causing her to snap the cell phone shut.

Ziva spun to see Tony, leaning against the doorjamb behind her, his eyes alight with suspicious.

"McGee. He was just updating me." She said, wondering how long he had been stood there. His eyes were aflame with thought, flickering from her to the cell phone, obviously aware of the topic of conversation. She hoped he hadn't heard what she had said; she didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

"Gibbs'll interrogate that Kyle kid when he gets back to the Navy Yard." He said, his expression not fitting with his words. His eyes connected with hers, thinking, searching for answers.

She watched him right back, wondering what he was thinking. She busies herself, pulling fresh clothes from her rucksack, but his eyes were still gazing. Ziva thought furiously over what Abby had said.

She lifted two blouses from her bag, examining them. A voice behind her told her he was still watching. "I like the white one." He said, she turned just in time to see him leave the room.

She looked back at clothes in her hands. She dropped the blue one back in to her rucksack.

xXx

Kyle leaned forward in his chair, sighing. He didn't dare look at the mirror, having watched enough cop shows to know there's someone behind it watching him. The door opened and the Gibbs strode in, shut the door behind him and sat down, sliding a file from his hand on to the table.

"Kyle Shaddix." Gibbs stated.

"Yeah?"

"That wasn't a question." Gibbs said, looking up at him, the icy eyes causing Kyle to swallow in apprehension. "How do you know Jessica Meyer?"

"She's my-_was_ my girlfriend." Kyle said, correcting himself, frowning slightly at his own mistake.

"For how long?"

"Two years."

"Good relationship?" Gibbs asked, his eyes tightening.

"Yeah, the best." Kyle said, smiling weakly.

"Well, it can't have been that good; you broke up." Gibbs said simply.

"Yeah." Kyle said, dropping his eyes to the table, his voice sad and regretful.

"Who ended the relationship?" Gibbs continued.

"Jessica did. She called me and said 'it's over'. How original is that?" Kyle joked, Gibbs cracking a little smile.

"Why did she break it off?" Gibbs asked, turning serious again.

"I don't know, she just said things were going on and she needed to be alone for a while. I asked if it was something I did but she didn't answer. Guess that means 'yes', huh?"

"When was that?"

"A few months before spring break,"

Gibbs scrutinised him, looking for lies, thinking over what he had said. "What did you do about it?"

"Nothing. She disappeared from school, wouldn't answer my calls, texts, emails. No one had spoken to her in weeks. I came and asked Mrs Meyer, but she just said Jessica was at camp." Kyle explained, shaking his head at the mention of Jessica's mother.

"And you didn't believe her?" Gibbs pushed.

"No. Camp started at spring break, so where was Jessica for months before?" Kyle asked rhetorically.

"Why did you break in to Jessica's room tonight?" Gibbs asked, changing the direction.

"I didn't break in-" Kyle began to defend.

"You broke the lock on her bedroom window, now answer the question!" Gibbs yelled, pounding his fist on the table.

Kyle backtracked, startled by the outburst. "Ok, I know I shouldn't have gone there but after what happened with her mom, I heard Jess was back in town. I just wanted to see her." He explained, his eyes sincere.

"Well you did that. And you know what? You scared her half to death." Gibbs said, his ice blue eyes scolding Kyle.

"I didn't mean to scare her."

"Well, waking up to find a strange man standing over you tends to do that to most women."

Kyle fell silent, not daring to contradict.

"Where were you yesterday morning?" Gibbs continued.

"At work." Gibbs tilted his head to the side. "I work the twilight shift, midnight until 8am."

"Convenient." Gibbs muttered, looking through the file.

"What is?"

"That your shift gives you an alibi even though you were only a couple blocks away from where Mrs Meyer was snatched." Gibbs said, his eyes accusing.

"I didn't do anything to Mrs Meyer!" Kyle said firmly. "You can check the cameras, I was there all night."

"I will. So you had better not be lying to me!" Gibbs threatened, getting up, eyes still on Kyle. He opened the door and left, closing it behind him.

Kyle breathed a sigh of relief.

xXx

Gibbs shut the door to interrogation and his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and flipped it open, putting it to his ear.

"Gibbs."

"I pulled Mrs Meyer's phone records." McGee explained. "Abby and I scanned frequent callers and-"

"You got someone?" Gibbs interrupted.

"One person called her repeatedly for months, and several calls the night before the kidnapping."

"Who, McGee?!" Gibbs demanded.

"Corporal Max Swanson."

xXx

"Take a seat." Gibbs said, gesturing to the seat opposite as he sat down in front of the mirror.

"What is this about, sir?" Swanson asked, taking his seat.

"Carla Meyer." Gibbs said simply.

"What about her?" Swanson asked, suddenly nervous.

"How do you know her?"

"In a personal capacity, sir." Swanson answered after a hesitant moment.

"Does this personal capacity happen in a hotel room, Corporal?" Gibbs said, too focused to miss a thing.

"We didn't want Jessica to know at first." He explained. "We thought it might upset her, given what happened to her father."

"How long have you and her mother been dating?"

"Nearly a year."

"And you still haven't told Jessica?" Gibbs asked, disbelieving.

"You don't understand, sir, Jessica knew but we had our issues. She's such a loyal daughter that she natural took offense to my presence. I had to just accept that to be with Carla, and hope Jessica would understand."

"Her phone records show you called her regularly, Corporal"

"Every day, sir. Morning and night. Because we couldn't see each other as often as we'd like, I would call in the morning and evening before she went to bed. We'd speak all night if we could."

"You called her twice in one night."

"Yes sir...she had some bad news."

"And what was that?"

"She broke up with me." Swanson said, closing his eyes briefly, before sighing. "She said she had things going on in her life right now and there was no space for me."

"That must have hurt."

"Like a kick in the stones!" he said, meeting Gibbs' eyes. "We were going strong for months; we even talked of marriage, having kids, for Christ's sake! We were in it for the long haul and then one day...nothing! She completely backs out on me and says she's leaving." Swanson explained, shaking his head.

"What did you do, Corporal?" Gibbs asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Nothing." Swanson sighed. "I ship back out in two days, by the time I get back she'll be long gone."

"Gone?" Gibbs said, catching his choice of words.

"Yes sir. She's moving next week," his tone one of finality.

"Where?"

"I don't know. She just said she's moving closer to her mother. She said it would be good for Jessica."

"You called her before the incident. Why?"

"Incident?" Swanson said, his expression smooth.

"Why, Corporal?" Gibbs said, running out of patience.

"To say goodbye, a last ditch attempt to get her to change her mind. Now what incident?" he asked again.

"Carla Meyers was kidnapped yesterday morning." Gibbs stood and left Swanson sitting there, his eyes on the table, frown gone.

xXx

"I knew I'd seen him before!" Abby exclaimed, finally realising.

"Who?" McGee asked, looking up from his laptop.

"Kyle Shaddix." Abby replied.

"You know the suspect?" McGee asked, frowning slightly.

"Not exactly. Gibbs asked me to check out his alibi and I've been to the bar where he works before.

He served me a drink once." Abby explained, flipping through the file.

"Doesn't knowing the suspect make you bias?" McGee asked innocently.

"McGee!" Abby said, turning to him with her mouth open in shock. "Are you doubting my professionalism?" she demanded.

"No." McGee replied, nervously but innocently.

"I am a scientist, McGee. I deal in facts, not opinions." She defended.

"So, when Tony was accused of murder, your opinion didn't come in to it at all?" he questioned.

"That's different." She said, turning back to her computer.

"How so?"

"It's Tony!" she said obviously.

"So if it was me accused of murder-?"

"Don't worry, Timmy, I'd do the same for you... I'd do anything for you guys, well except maybe the stuff Tony fantasises about. Actually-"

"Rule 12." Gibbs said, striding in.

"Never date a co-worker." McGee recited.

Gibbs stands at Abby's workstation. He nodded at McGee approvingly.

"_Dating_ a co-worker is against the rules, but not fantasising about them." Abby defended.

She looked at Gibbs, looked him up and down and raised her eyebrows at him. He chuckled, his lips hiding a smile.

"Alibi Abby." He said.

"Solid. Camera over the bar shows Kyle was there all night."

"Corporal Swanson's alibi?"

"In a meeting with his CO from 6:30 to 8:30."

"Solid?" Gibbs asked.

"As a rock. Or it would have been if he'd actually turned up. His CO filed a report of disobedience."

"Sounds regular." Gibbs assumed.

"Yeah. It's a wonder he got promoted in the first place. Reports show allegations of Swanson being aggressive, insolent, confrontational and 'challenging'." She said. "My teacher used to say I was challenging."

"Because you were naughty?" McGee smirked.

"Always." Abby teased, smiling. McGee smiled but faltered as Gibbs looked at him, causing him to turn back to his computer. "Actually I used to just outsmart them."

She smiled as Gibbs nods at her approvingly and then departed.

xXx

Tony and Ziva had just had an update from McGee. Ziva was sat on the sofa next to Jessica. Next to Jessica, in the armchair, was Tony.

"What's going to happen to Kyle?" Jessica asked tentatively.

"Depends on his involvement."

"Kyle wouldn't do this." Jessica defended, shaking her head. "he wouldn't hurt my mom, he

wouldn't hurt me and he definitely wouldn't hurt Sammi!"

"Why is that?" Ziva asked, causing Jessica to look at her, nervously. Jessica froze. She glanced from

Ziva to Tony and back. Tony caught Ziva's eye, seeing his clue to leave.

"I'll give you ladies a minute alone." He suggest, heading upstairs.

"Kyle is the father." Ziva said, straight to the point. Jessica didn't answer. "Jessica, is Kyle the father?"

"Yes...no..." Jessica said, hesitant to answer, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I don't know."

"You had another boyfriend?"

Jessica shook her head, not looking at Ziva.

"One night stand?" Ziva asked doubtfully. Jessica remained silent. "Jessica, if you are worried about getting Kyle in to trouble, we need your permission to take Sammi's blood for a DNA test." Ziva paused to let Jessica consider it. "Is Kyle the father?"

"I don't know!" Jessica insisted, crying harder.

"Who is the other boy you think it might be?" Ziva tried, but Jessica did not respond, looking away from Ziva again. "Jessica?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm tired." Jessica insisted. Before Ziva could say anything, Jessica had rushed upstairs to her room.

xXx

Jessica had stayed in her room and Ziva had since taken to cleaning her gun.

"Hey, Ziva," Tony said, striding towards her, his cell phone in his hand. "That was McGee. He spoke to Kyle's Shaddix's friends. They said he was obsessive about music, protective of Jessica and they said recently he was paranoid of someone trying to hurt her."

"Not your average psycho?" she joked.

"Yeah." Tony laughed, agreeing as he strode closer to her. After a long awkward pause, as Ziva cleaned her gun, Tony spoke. "McGee said it was him who called you earlier." Tony said, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Yes. I told you." Ziva said, trying to keep her eyes on her gun, Abby's words still swirling around in her mind. _'He wants you,'_

"What did you talk about?"

"Oh, you know...stuff."Ziva lamely replied, stalling. "What else did Kyle's friends say?" Ziva asked, trying to steer the conversation away from questions she was not ready to answer.

Tony sighed, obviously not liking the change of subject. "Straight A student, though he used to barely scrape a grade. They said he completely changed when he met Jessica; on the straight and narrow.

But they said he's always had a natural flare for computers."

Ziva didn't say anything, wondering how long it would be before he started asking about her phone call again.

"Well I can see you're busy. I'll see you later." Tony said, trudging to the back door, and closed it behind him. She wondered why he was along in the backyard. She sighed. Obviously his mind was just as confused as hers.

xXx

"Jessica?" Ziva asked, opening the door. Jessica was sitting on her bed with a book. "I just wanted to give you my number."

Jessica closed her book, looking confused.

"I just want you to be able to contact me if you need to." Ziva said, handing over the slip of paper. "If you ever need anything, absolutely anything, call me. No matter what the time of day, distance no object."

There was a short awkward silence as Jessica merely looked down at the digits in her hand.

"Thanks. You really care about us, huh?" Jessica mumbled, her voice thick.

"I understand how you feel. I just wish I had someone to help me when I was young. I don't want you to feel alone."

"Don't worry, Abby said with agent Gibbs on the case, this guy will never bother us again."

"I don't doubt that." Ziva added, slightly chuckling.

xXx

Ziva lay awake. 

Tony had finally come inside and they had sat in an awkward silence. Ziva knew Tony felt something. Tony had gone up to bed first. Ziva stayed downstairs, not needing more silence between them. After another 30 minutes, she trudged upstairs. She had checked on the girls, sleeping. She had only felt maternal when Talia was still alive, a long long time ago. Yet her chest swelled with pride as she watched the two beautiful girls asleep. 

She had crept in to her bedroom, only to find that Tony was still awake, sitting on the edge of the bed. His elbows rested on his knees, and his head was in his hands. He had looked up when she entered, as though surprised she was there. She remembered the weak smile he had given her. He had slid himself in to bed, already changed, as Ziva headed to the bathroom. 

But now, after an excruciating silence between them, Ziva lay awake wondering how long Tony would have sat on the edge of their bed, had she not interrupted him. She could hear his restless sighs as he struggled to get comfortable. Had it been another situation she would have threatened him to make him still. but she knew it would do not good. Her phone call was obviously playing on both their minds. His finally conceded and tossed over to her. 

"Ok, I gotta know; did McGee and Abby tell you what I think they did earlier?" 

She froze. The last thing she needed was to pour her heart out. Especially with cameras only in the next room. She thanks herself for shutting the bathroom door. 

"It was nothing." She replied, knowing it would not abate him. 

"Ziva, don't play games with me!" Tony warned, despite his voice being soft and caring. 

"I am not playing games, Tony. Abby and McGee betrayed your confidence. That is between the three of you. It does not concern me." She finished. 

"You know damn well it does concern you." His eyes were intent, watching her reaction. She looked down as she felt his hand slid over hers. She looked back at him. "I need to know if you feel the same way." He said, his eyes pleading for an answer. 

Ziva sat up. Feeling the weight of the conversation. Tony copied her, his eyes never wavering from hers. Ziva took a deep breath. 

"Tony, I-" A cry filled the air, coming from the girls' room. Sammi-Jo was awake. 

"Jessica will get her." Tony said, trying to distract Ziva's gaze away from the door, wanting the oh-so important answer. 

Ziva looked at him, sighing, her dark hair falling forward, slightly covering her face. Ziva's head was bowed, her eyes closed and he heard her staggered breath as she tried to calm herself. Tony leaned towards her, moving her hair from her face, needing to see her sparkly brown eyes, even in the dim light. He held his hand to her right cheek, as his other hand clenched hers, meshing their fingers together. His face was so close to hers, he could feel her sweet breath against his lips. 

"Ziva," he began, his soft, gentle tone causing her to gasp slightly, her fingers twitching in his own. His hand moved from her cheek. He slid it past her ear, grazing it around the back of her neck. Ziva briefly pulled herself back to reality, hearing Sammi was still crying her little heart out. She was soon distracted as she felt Tony gently pull her closer, his fingers grazing down her neck slightly. 

"I need you to tell me how you feel." His crystal gaze bored in to hers, but Ziva could only hear the erratic pounding of her heart and the now hysterical screams of Sammi-Jo. 

Ziva tore herself from his delicious touch. She wanted to so badly to tell him how she felt, to pull him closer, to hold him and kiss him. But she couldn't get the words to form inside her head, let alone say them out loud 

"I must tend to Sammi." She muttered, barely audible as she hid the pain in her voice. She slid out of the bed and strode to the door, privately wiping away the tear that had fell. 

xXx 

Ziva stepped in to the darkness if Jessica's bedroom. From the lack of movement, Ziva assumed Jessica was still sleeping. She strode over to the crib, and gazed down at Sammi. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, her cheeks rosy red and moist. She was waving her little fists around and stamping her delicate feet. Ziva reached down, covering her over with a blanket and placed a pacifier in her mouth. Sammi stopped screaming, her cries slowing as tiredness took over and she accepted the pacifier. Ziva smiled as the little girl closed her eyes. She looked over at the ruffle of duvet on Jessica's bed. She leaned over to check on her, only to not find her. 

"Jessica?" Ziva called, starting to panic, as she pulled the duvet back to nothing but sheets. "Jessica?!" A sudden cold breeze swept through the curtains and raised goosebumps on her arms. 

Ziva darted to the window. She froze as the out air blew through the window. She leant out and quickly scanned the area. There! Jessica was being pulled away from the house. A dark figure with his arm around her chest. 

"Jessica!" Ziva screamed as terror crept up her spine. 

Jessica spotted Ziva. Using her duct tape bound hands, she pulled the sturdy grey tape from her mouth. "Ziva! Help me! Please!" The figure stopped and pressed the tape back over her mouth as Jessica kicked and struggled. He continued to drag her, this time across the damp ground by her hands, though using only one hand himself. He strode confidently, like he was a child pulling a little red wagon. Ziva could still hear Jessica's muffled cries of terror as she disappeared through the darkened trees that lined the backyard. 

"Tony!" Ziva screamed and turned to see he was already up. He threw her weapon to her, which she could expertly, and they raced down the stairs.

Tony struggled to keep up with Ziva as she ran with all her might, bursting through the door and in to the darkened backyard. She held her gun high as she sped towards the trees, not caring she was only in a nightdress. She scanned the area as she ran, on guard. Nothing. Tires squealed behind her. She skidded around and dashed to the front of the house, feeling twigs and stones cutting at her feet. She darted out in front of the car, firing off shots as it swerved around her. She spun and unloaded her entire magazine at the car. The rear window shattered as the car sped around the corner, as the suspect fled in Tony's car, stealing Jessica with him. 

"Damn it!" Ziva cursed as she dropped her aim. Her anger bubbled inside her chest at the suspect she would dearly like to have shot. And herself.

**AN: Ok Ok, lower your pitchforks I know I cut off Tiva in its tracks but drama was needed. Hope you liked it, drop me a review and let me know what you think, x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**AN: First of all, I apologise for the wait, the wifi card in my laptop is bust so I'm having to find other means of getting online. I hope you like this episode, a bit more action and of course a few moments of Tiva.**

**Thanks to Josette1807, missjoy74, Stroylover, emareellelle, ApolloFairy, gabyadlin12, 7, dreaming-of-tonight, Ten Roses Gone, mitchievw, RAD092515, Miaa Suave, NCISfnatic101, shootingstars4195, , heo.12 for all your reviews, alerts and follows. You guys are my motivation x**

**Enjoy x**

Ziva felt ashamed. She sat in the sofa, cradling Sammi-Jo. The call to Gibbs that they had failed was mortifying. She dreaded seeing his icy stare of disappointment at her failure. Tony had done little to ease her guilt, despite his multiple attempts.

"It's not your fault, Zee" he soothed. Her stomach did an involuntary flip. He had never called her that before. "There's nothing you could have done."  
"I could have locked the window, After Kyle got in I should have nailed it shut. It would have been common sense." She muttered, watching Sammi sleep in her arms.

She felt Tony sit down beside her. She felt his hand hesitantly rest n her shoulder. After a moment of her not responding, he placed it more confidently, knowing she would not push it away. "I know I'm supposed to be supportive and caring right now. But I'm going to be honest with you, Ziva. You can sit here feeling guilty, thinking over what you could or should have done. Or, you can get up, go find the bad guy and make it up to Jessica."

Ziva looked at him considering. She smiled after a moment, gave him a one armed hug and then stood up. She handed over Sammi as he took her confidently in to his arms.

"Give me a minute."

xXx

Gibbs marched in to the lab, Tony and Ziva hurrying behind him.

"What the hell happened?!" Gibbs demanded, as he gained on McGee, who fumbled at Gibbs towering over him.

Abby looked down at McGee in his seat, looking sympathetic. "Gibbs, go easy on him, it's not his fault."

"So it's your fault?" Gibbs countered.

"It is my fault." Everyone looked round at Ziva.

"No its not Ziva" Abby soothed. When Ziva did not return her smile Abby decided it was time for a hug.

"Are you two done cuddling?" Gibbs interrupted after a second or two. Abby didn't move. "Now, Abs!" Abby sighed and pulled away.

"There is always time for a hug Gibbs." She said, moving towards her computer.

"I don't give a damn about hugging. I want to know what happened to my god damn cameras that let a young girl get taken!"

"Well the cameras went down-"

"I know that McGee!" Gibbs interrupted.

"And when we tried to put them back up it sent a virus in to my computer."

"I tried to set up a firewall," McGee explained. "But that made it worse, so I tried to reroute-"

"Yaddayaddageekstuff! Get to the point McGee." Tim glared at Tony.

"It fried Abby's computer."

"By the time I got it fixed again, there was no fixing the cameras." Abby added.

"And you didn't think to notify Tony and Ziva?" Gibbs demanded.

"We're really sorry Gibbs." Abby said, her round eyes glittering.

"Abby could anyone do this?"

"No, you'd have to be seriously good with computers."

Tony and Ziva looked at each other. "Kyle is good with computers." Ziva explained, her heart sinking.

"Abby, GPS on Tony's car?"

"I tried, but I couldn't get a signal. It must have been dismantled." She explained.

"He's good, finding a GPS the size of a quarter inside a whole car." McGee mumbled.

Ziva's phone rang. "David."

"Ziva!"

Ziva put it on loud speaker. "Jessica, where are you?" As Abby rushed past, using her only working computer in her office to trace.

"I don't know, I'm in the trunk of a car! He said he'd come for me if I told, he said he would!" Jessica rambled.

"Who would come for you? Jessica, who do you mean?" Ziva demanded.

"Help me, Ziva, please come find me!"

"Jessica-" A scream erupted from the receiver. "Jessica!" She yelled as there was silence. A muffled cry. A trunk slamming shut and the phone being thrown to the floor. The line went dead.

"I got coordinates!" Abby called. "I'll feed them through to your car!" She called as the agents rushed to the elevator.

xXx

Once in the car, Gibbs put his foot down, speeding along the deserted roads. Ziva's phone rang again, she put it on loudspeaker.

"Who is this?" Ziva asked, knowing it was Kyle.

"Is Agent Gibbs there?"

After a moment of silence, Gibbs replied. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Playing cat and mouse, Agent Gibbs?" Kyle teased, though his voice devoid of humour.

"That's the perfect description for you. A small rodent I'm going to crush." Tony smirked next to him.

Kyle chuckled. "I din't think so. I'm not the bad guy here, Agent Gibbs. Please hurry, I don't think she has long." Kyle pleaded.

McGee gave Gibbs a thumbs up through the rear view mirror, Gibbs accelerated.

"I'm assuming you traced my call. Be quick, Agent Gibbs." The line went dead.

"Signal is moving, he's still in the car. On the-"

Ziva's phone rang again. "When I find you I'm going to cut off your-"

"What did I do?" Abby asked. "I was just calling to say Child Services brought Sammi-Jo back. They don't have anywhere for her to go until Monday." Abby informed.

"Look after her Abs." Gibbs said.

"Way ahead of you. Hey I know it's wrong to put nail polish on a baby, but what if it's really cool black polish?"

xXx

"He's just turned off towards industrial." McGee said as Gibbs drove, if possible, faster. Tony just thanked God they had seat belts.

Gibbs swerved around a corner. "Boss?"

"Shortcut."

The car flew down a wide alleyway, before swerving back out on to the main road, no cars but the one they were pursuing. Tony's car right ahead.

He gradually gained on him, before swerving in front of the car. Kyle skidded away to avoid collision, before coming to a stop inches from the edge of a ditch.

They all jumped out the car and drew their guns. Gibbs wretched open the door and pulled Kyle out. He threw him against the side of the car and popped the trunk.

"What are you doing? You're wasting time!" Kyle yelled.

"Not in the trunk!" Ziva called from the back of the slammed the trunk shut and strode to join the others. "Where's Jessica?"

"Obviously not in my trunk." Kyle groaned.

"Do not test me!" Ziva threatened. "Where is she?" She demanded, fighting to control her temper.

"He has her! He took her!"

"Who?"

"Lieutenant Swanson!"

"What?!"

"As soon as I found out Mrs Meyer had been taken I knew it was him; knew he'd come back from Jessica. I tried to warn her before but you caught me," Kyle said.

"Why would he take them?" Tony asked.

"Because he's been hurting her! She told me as soon as it first happened, while we were still together, but made me swear not to tell anyone. But when we broke up I knew something was wrong. So I told Mrs Meyer what he's been doing. When she disappeared I figured she had confronted him."

"Hurting her how?" Gibbs demanded.

"Raping her." Kyle said after a hesitant moment. "Every time he visited Mrs Meyer, he would sneak in to her room."

"Sammi-Jo could be Swanson's," Tony muttered to Ziva.

"No, Sammi is mine, I know it!" Kyle said adamantly.

"You know about her?"

"Rumours are usually true. Now come on, he's getting further away! I have a GPS on his car, we can follow it, please just come on!"

xXx

Gibbs pulled the car up in front of the warehouse, though without the roar of the tires. They climbed out, but held Kyle back.

"You stay in the car." Gibbs ordered.

"Oh, come on Gibbs, I-"

"You going in there could make him trigger happy and that's not what I want with 2 women in there!" Kyle fell back in his seat in defeat.

"Ziva, you're going in first." Gibbs said as he headed to the trunk and they followed.

"She'll need a vest." Tony immediately demanded.

Gibbs chucked them each one from the trunk.

"You really travel round with those, Boss?"

Gibbs ignored him as he saw Ziva slipping it over her head. "No, if he sees the vest he'll go for a head shot and he's a Marine so he'd get it."

"And how do you suggest I get it on under my shirt?"

"Question is, if you don't wear a vest, how long do you think it would take Ducky to dig the bullet out of your chest cavity?"

Ziva finally conceded. "Point taken." She lifted it off and headed to the other side of the car. Tony followed as Gibbs and McGee busied themselves with their own vests.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you some privacy." Tony smirked, taking off his jacket to shield her from view. All he would have to do is look down and he would see everything, and they both knew it.

She sighed slightly and tightened her eyes in suspicion, guessing he would gawp as soon as he could. She placed the vest on the car roof. She locked eyes with Tony and lifted her shirt over her head. She saw the appreciative glint spark up in his eyes, but his gaze stayed fixed on her eyes. She tossed her shirt over his shoulder.

She leaned closer to him. In his peripheral vision he could see the black lace straps resting on her shoulders and the graceful curve of her collarbones. As she leaned closer their eyes stayed linked. She pulled the vest from the roof and pulled it over her head. She looked away from Tony as she clipped it up. Tony put his jacket back on, now she was covered. From the gaps at the side, her slender midriff was visible.

"See something you like Tony?" Ziva joked, as she slipped her shirt back on. Their eyes met, but he didn't answer. They both knew that 'like' was a major understatement.

"Hey!" Gibbs called, having already geared up. "Come on."

Ziva gave Tony a sweeping look, she placed her gun at the small of her back and strode to the metal door of the warehouse.

"See you soon." She said, opening the door.

"You'd better; I still want that answer." He said. She froze for a moment as she looked at Tony. "Be safe." He said quietly.

She stepped inside.

xXx

Ziva crept forward through the dim light. She saw Swanson, his back to her. Carla Meyer was tied to a chair, her hands bound behind her, her legs and waist secured with duct tape, still in the pyjamas she wore when she was taken. Duct tape secured her mouth, although it was peeling up. To the right, back to back with her mother, was Jessica in the same position.

"Max, please don't do this," Carla pleaded, tears streaking her cheeks as he roughly replaced the loose tape.

"Why did you do it? Why did you have to go and ruin everything?!" Swanson raged, aiming the gun in his hand at her head.

"Swanson!" Ziva yelled. He spun in the spot, aiming the silver revolver at her.

Ziva raised her arms in surrender. "I am unarmed." She lied.

"Who else is here?" Swanson demanded, glancing around.

"No one. I came alone." Ziva lied again. "I just want to know why." She said, buying time for the others to get in position. Swanson looked at her suspiciously. "You are going to kill me anyway, at least let me know understand." Ziva lowered her arms.

He considered for a moment. "When Jessica told me she was pregnant, I broke up with Carla and convinced her to move away." Swanson admitted.

"You thought you were in the clear?" Ziva asked.

"Until they came back with the baby; I thought they were going to get rid of it! I knew it was a matter of time until she said something. When Carla called me-"

"And confronted you."

Swanson flexed his fingers on the trigger. " I panicked. If it got out, it would ruin my career." Swanson yelled.

"So you kidnapped her." Ziva stated.

In her peripheral vision she saw a shadow move closer. Kyle crept in to the light. Jessica's eyes flew open as he indicated for her to stay silent. She looked to Ziva and gave a nod. Kyle pulled a blade from his pocket and, as Swanson gloated, he crept forward and quietly cut through the tape binding her. He gently peeled the tape from her mouth, again indicating to stay silent.

"I was going to take them all but by the time I got Carla in to my car I could hear sirens. I had no choice but to leave them behind. I knew I'd have to go back before she could say anything to the cops."

Behind him Jessica was free. Kyle grabbed her hand and tried to run.

"No!" Swanson yelled, turning the gun on them. Everything seemed to slow down. Kyle and Jessica froze as they heard the gun cock. Carla muffled a plea at Swanson. And then the bullet exploded from the barrel.

I an instant, Kyle threw himself in front of Jessica, before falling to the floor as crimson blood soiled his chest.

The door burst open just before the shot fired off, as Gibbs, Tony and McGee rushed in with their guns drawn. Ziva had already acted instinctively as he had raised the gun.

Swanson was already lying on the floor. His gun set loosely in his hand and a slow trickle of blood began down his forehead.

"Ziva?!" Gibbs yelled.

"I am fine!" She called back as she hurried over to Kyle. Behind her, Tony and McGee were freeing Mrs Meyer, who immediately hurried to Jessica and Kyle.

"Kyle! Please no you can't-" Jessica cried, her hands bloody as Kyle rested in her lap.

Gibbs ripped open his shirt with the fallen blade. Blood poured from a hole in Kyle's chest, just below collarbone.

**AN: With my laptop in the state I can only promise to upload next Monday, possibly Tuesday if I have issues. Besides the wait, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have decided to edit my ending, I'd love to know what you liked/ didn't like about this chapter. Let me know all your thoughts, because the ending is still up in the air. Thanks,**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**AN:**

Gibbs strode in to Abby's lab. "Abby, the DNA" he said.

"Just running it now. Is Kyle going to be ok?"

"Tony's just brought him back from the hospital. Bullet went straight through his shoulder, he'll be in a sling but he'll be fine."

She was quiet for a moment. "Gibbs what if Swanson is the father? I don't wanna break up the family and-"

"Just do what you do best, Abby." He placed a small kiss on h forehead and walked away.

xXx

Sammi-Jo was asleep in her carrier, on Ziva's desk. Jessica tentatively had her arms around Kyle, who had his shirt off, feeling quite proud of his battle scar. Ziva spied Jessica's name inked across his left side and smiled.

"Never." Was the word that had caused Jessica's tears to fall. 'Will you leave me if she's not yours?' Was all Jessica asked.

Tony sat at his desk, Ziva sitting against it, facing him. Their eyes had long since left Jessica and Kyle and now they held each other's gaze. Both knew what the gaze meant. He still wants an answer.

"You are quiet." She noted, it was always obvious since Tony was rarely quiet.

Tony half shrugged. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

Ziva nodded slightly, she was too scared to broach the subject, not now, not here.

"I thought I almost lost you back there." Tony said quietly, failing to make it sound as offhand as he was trying to. "One second I heard the shot, the next-"

"But I am fine." She interrupted, not letting his thoughts get away from him. "We all made it out alive and together, that is what matters now." She comforted.

"Alive? Yes. Together...well...I guess I'm still waiting for updates on that one." He tried to joke, his eyes boring in to hers; she saw the plea to know in his eyes.

Ziva took a deep breath, bracing herself to say what would change everything. But then she couldn't say anything; couldn't form the words.

Gibbs returned at the same time McGee and Carla did from the cafeteria. She grabbed her daughter up in another tight hug.

"Mom, there's someone you should see." Jessica led her Mom back to Kyle.

Their eyes met and there was a stony silence.

"While I'm not happy about you sleeping with my daughter," she said, Kyle dropping his head. "But I am honoured you would take a bullet for her." She finished softly.

"Yes ma'am. And I'd do it again if I had to." He said sincerely.

Mrs Meyer extended her hand. Kyle glanced at Jessica before sliding his hand in to hers and shaking it firmly.

"Welcome to the family." Mrs Meyer said, and that was a peace offering if he ever heard one.

Tony sat in a stony silence. Ziva knew she had been unfair. He had poured his heart out to her and she still couldn't say it back.

She got a welcome distraction as Abby arrived, a small box in her hands. Jessica looked up nervously, her eyes already swimming. "I took the liberty." Abby said, handing over the box.

Jessica held the box in her shaking hands. She opened the box and tears fell as she saw the little gold bracelet, engraved "Sammi-Jo Shaddix."

Kyle immediately broke down at seeing her name; he pulled Jessica in to a one armed hug, hiding his face in her hair.

"Agent Gibbs," Carla Meyer said, pulling him to the side. "The claim of statutory rape,"

Gibbs looked over at Kyle, Jessica and Sammi-Jo. Any other time he'd have gone for the longest jail time he could. "I think we can give him a break." Gibbs nodded.

"Thank you."

She rejoined Jessica and Kyle, who was holding his daughter in his arms for the first time, with help from Jessica, no longer concerned by the tears streaking down his cheeks.

xXx

Ziva quickly closed her apartment door and leant against it with a sigh. She had all but fled the Navy yard as soon as Gibbs said they could leave. She did not want to speak to Tony. She had spent years suppressing her feelings and hiding how she felt, so to be suddenly confronted by them was terrifying.

She threw her coat and bag to the floor, pulling her hair free of its tie, allowing it to fall around her face. She was about to pull her shirt off and head for the shower when the door knocked. She knew who it was even without looking.

"Come on Ziva, open up. I know you're in there; your car and motorbike are parked outside," she ignored him for another moment. "Ziva!" He yelled, uncharacteristically hitting the door in frustration. He was quiet for a moment. "Ok look, I know you've had a rough week. And I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but...but I need to know if you feel the same way...Please?"

She stayed silent. After a moment she heard movement. He was leaving. Without an answer. In a split second she has made her decision and wretched open the door.

"Tony," she called, as he was about to step in the elevator. He turned and looked at her. It was time for her to answer.

"I know I have been unfair to you. I know I have led you on and then knocked you back when you suggested anything deeper. And I know I cannot let this go on." She paused for a moment, hating how it sounded strangely like a no.

"Do you feel the same about me...or not, Ziva?" He pressed, coming to stand inches in front of her.

After a split second she answered.

"Yes." She replied, terrified she had finally admitted it.

He pulled her closer and his lips crashed to hers. Urgency increased as she wrapped her arms around his neck, needing more of him than ever. She broke apart from the kiss, but held him close.

"I realise now how cruel it was to not tell you sooner." He kissed her again, then pressed his forehead against hers.

"Rule 12." He shrugged, in explanation.

She felt him smile against her lips. "I never really liked that rule." She replied, his hands snaking under the hem of her shirt.

"Me neither." He muttered, in between her gasps and moans as he popped the buttons of her shirt. His cool hands on her chest was all it took for her resolve to crumble and she pulled him inside. He kicked the door shut as he thought of the silver six point star pendant necklace he had hidden in his jacket pocket.

**AN: The next chapter is the last, please leave a review, I'm getting a lot of readers and yet fewer reviews than I'd like. If you've taken the time to read please take the time to leave a few words. Really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter xx**


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